Row80 Check-In Nov. 12th

The leaves are getting sparse these days. I’m guessing future photos will probably involve winter landscapes. But I’ll find something of beauty to post here for you. And now the goals:

Write at least 3 short stories intended for publication. I’ll probably try my hand at several more than three, but the hope is to find three gemstones among the rocks.
I entered Trick or Tree into the Writer’s Digest Short Story Contest. I think we find out who won sometime in February. Keep your fingers crossed for me, will ya? I haven’t made any progress with Dog Shy or any other short stories, but I feel like getting Trick or Tree entered took precedence.

Read the helpful books to prepare me for the editing fest that will be late November early December on Shade.I’m making pretty good progress with this. It really comes down to getting on the train and getting it done. I think I’m nearly halfway through Story and then On Writing will be next. Story is still pretty awesome. And as usual, I’m posting little nuggets of Robert McKee wisdom on Twitter. Enjoy!

Have read all 201 available Anton Chekhov’s short stories, sprinkled with Hemingway and Bradbury.
I’ve read 40 of 201 Chekhov short stories.

Once December hits, tear Shade apart and polish it to pure awesomeness! Shade is came out this morning now that Trick or Tree is taken care of, and I plan to polish the first chapter up as much as I can to get it into its contest before Thanksgiving. Then back into cold storage for a time until December hits. Yikes, I need to read my writing help books faster…

No Treat November. I’m 50/50 successful so far. Some days I’m on target, other days I have a cupcake. Slowly but surely, I’ll get there.

The Holiday Book Read! Finished Pretties by Scott Westerfield. I really enjoyed his previous book Uglies, but Pretties toward the end I felt disappointed. It was too formulaic for me, like he’d recycled the plot of Uglies, tweaking it to be slightly different for Pretties. Anyways, it didn’t drive me to want to read the next book like Uglies did. I may give Abandon a brief look this weekend, but I’m really going to push for getting Story read. Short Pretties review forthcoming.

Now it’s time for your update. How are you coming along on your goals? Any major progress to report? I know a lot of you out there are doing the NaNo. Stay strong and keep on writing!

Share the Scribbles:

Like this:

Related

Post navigation

11 thoughts on “Row80 Check-In Nov. 12th”

My goals have been turned upside down! When some presses open their doors to submissions, you don’t know how long you have. I’ll be getting Eden ready for two such submissions. My last experience with a small press taught me a lot. Plus these two presses are more horror oriented. I’m feeling pretty darn good.

Not only am I going to cross my fingers for you, but I’m sending good vibes your way too. You’ve been a great friend and supporter to not only me, but many others as well. You’re one of the good ones, Jae. Don’t change.

Thanks, I’m sure gonna try to come out victorious. I’m glad you’ve learned more for what to do with Eden so you can get it ready. As much as I hate to admit it, rejection of my novel has helped push me to be a better writer.

By the way, you’re showing up on the blog tomorrow along with 9 other bloggers in comics form. I hit 100 followers last week and I’m paying tribute to a select few whom I interact with fairly regularly. Is it weird to say, You’ll see you tomorrow. 😉

I finished the edits on Trails in the Sand and sent if off to my editor on Friday. I wrote about editing my work for Thursday’s blog (thanks for suggestion). Today I begin creating a press kit including my one-sentence pitch and back-cover copy. I have these things in various forms in different notebooks – today I pull it all together. An added goal – get my book of travel essays Odyssey to Myself pulled together and online in time for holiday season. Whew, I’m tired. Think I’ll lie down or have another pot of coffee.

I read “Uglies,” “Pretties,” and “Specials,” and I liked the idea behind them, but I agree the plot began to feel a little repetitive. Plus I didn’t love the MC. Still, I did read all 3, so can’t have been all bad. “Uglies” was definitely the best, though.

Good luck on the rest of your goals! I’m trying to give up sugar, too – this is day 2 of 2, and no cupcakes yet, but the day is still young…

I think you have to be ready for the advice and ready to glean out of it what you need. I certainly wasn’t a year ago. But working with a professional editor helped and getting advice from agents at the writers conference was hard but also helpful. I’m basically drawing up a to-do list or worksheet from the books I’m reading, making sure I can answer or do answer the questions that come up and make a final rewrite before querying out the book again. I’m probably on draft 10, but I’m determined to do what it takes to make this story the best it can be.

I’m glad to know King’s book will be helpful. Story is sooo long. Good, but long. I’m hoping to finish it up soon so I can move on to King’s book and then Donald Maass’ two books. The edit fest will certainly be productive when it comes time. Thanks for stopping by, always good to meet new blog buddies. 😀